Dave Evans and Associates Commissions Survey Vessel

The Marine Services Division of David Evans and Associates, Inc. commissioned its new 82-foot hydrographic survey and scientific vessel Blake in a ceremony in October at the vessel’s homeport of Gulfport, Mississippi.

The primary mission for the Blake is high resolution object detection surveys in support of navigation.

The vessel has a draft of 4.5 feet and is capable of supporting dredging and coastal restoration projects in remote areas for a duration of 10 days. The Blake may be crewed for 12- or 24-hour operations and has aboard a personal watercraft that is outfitted for survey grade single beam surveys in shallow water, as well as a 12-foot RHIB. The Corps of Engineers Mobile District used the personal watercraft to survey the shoal water over Camille Cut on Ship Island as part of the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project.

The custom-built Blake is a Coast Guardcertified, aluminum catamaran. The survey platform vessel is designed with wave-piercing bows, Tier-3 diesel engines, twin 50-kilowatt generators, and a full suite of state-of-the-art survey instrumentation. Built by Geo Shipyard in New Iberia, Louisiana, the new vessel will complement the firm’s national operations and expand DEA’s hydrographic and geophysical survey and marine science capabilities in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

The first assignment for the Blake is updating nautical charts in Mississippi Sound and Chandeleur Sound in the Gulf of Mexico for NOAA Office of Coast Survey. This includes the survey of the Gulfport channel that is in the process of being dredged.